drink
Latest
The Fellow Aiden makes coffee good enough for snobs with a single button
After years of customer requests, Fellow is finally announcing its first coffee machine in the Aiden, which delivers a high-quality pour-over experience with a single touch.
How wood-scanning tech is taking the guesswork out of aging bourbon
Penelope Bourbon hoped to tap into the success of its Toasted Series Bourbon by creating "builds" of French oak using a infrared wood-scanning tech called OakScan.
Sacramento Kings guests can use 'smart' bottles to pour their own drinks
The Sacramento Kings are fond of using technology as a hook to fill seats, but their latest may be particularly alluring if you're in the position to score premium tickets. The basketball team is using connected bottle tops from NINA that let you pour your own alcohol in a suite or loft. You only have to open a tab, choose what you want to drink and pour until you get the quantity you paid for. This might let you focus more on the game than asking a bartender for more libations.
Razer’s 'mental performance' drink probably won't quench its thirst
Razer wants to tackle another part of the gaming experience -- namely, the drinks you need to keep your momentum going. It's introducing Respawn (no connection to that Respawn), a "mental performance" drink mix that's meant to keep your focus sharp for long periods. No, it's not a direct knock-off of its most conspicuous rival, G Fuel. You'll find a few familiar ingredients like choline and Vitamin B, and it's equally sugar-free, but there's none of the taurine and less caffeine (95mg versus 150mg). The Razer-owned brand doesn't want to risk the crash you get with energy drinks -- this is meant for those hours-long sessions where you don't want to slip.
Pepsi is making a SodaStream-like sparkling water station
Now that Pepsi owns SodaStream, it's trying its hand at a make-your-own-drink station -- though it's not for the company's usual sugar-laden fare. The company has unveiled a water dispenser system that lets you create your own zero-calorie beverage. A touchscreen interface lets you make it as carbonated as you like, choose the flavor (including its strength) and dial in the temperature. You could get a strong, cold raspberry lime drink when you want something punchy, or plain uncarbonated water if you're not feeling adventurous.
Evian's answer to wasteful plastic bottles is a smart water dispenser
Evian knows that plastic water bottles aren't terribly kind to the environment, and it has a clever solution to that problem: give drinkers a way to kick the bottle habit altogether. Its newly launched Renew water dispenser relies on unique 5L (1.3gal) "bubble" jugs that shrink as you use them, providing a hefty amount of mineral water without as much of an impact on the environment as usual. Each jug uses 66 percent less plastic than a 1.5L bottle, and they're both made of completely recycled plastic and themselves completely recyclable. You won't have to feel quite so guilty about wanting Evian for the gym or a long hike.
Starbucks will offer Uber Eats delivery from more than 2,000 US stores
It might be almost too easy to get a Starbucks fix in the near future. In the wake of trials, the coffee giant will offer delivery through Uber Eats from over 2,000 US stores (roughly a quarter of its footprint in the country) in early 2019. The company hasn't detailed pricing or selection, but there's a good possibility that a grande mocha latte will be just a few taps away.
Sound-based liquid printing could lead to new designer drugs
Liquid printing is virtually ubiquitous thanks to inkjets, but the materials can only be so sluggish before it stops working. What if you wanted to print a biological material, or even liquid metal? That might happen soon. Harvard researchers have developed a technique that uses acoustic levitation to print droplets of materials that wouldn't normally be so accommodating, including metal and honey. The approach uses a subwavelength acoustic resonator to create a sound field that pulls substances from the printer nozzle at over 100G -- even some of the most viscous materials can't resist that tug. You can control the size of the droplets using the amplitude of the soundwaves, and place them anywhere you like.
Mixed-gene French grapes may lead to cheaper, safer wine
French wineries have to use a lot of pesticide to keep their grapes healthy, and that's both expensive and costly -- a problem when some countries don't have those problems. The country might just have a solution, though. Researchers at France's Institute of Agronomical Research (INRA) recently received permission to grow four grape varieties that are genetically resistant to mildew rot, eliminating much of the need for pesticides. Where a winery typically needs to spray pesticides about 15 times a year, the INRA varieties may only need one or two.
Starbucks offers AR tours of its lavish Shanghai coffee shop
Starbucks has a long, long tradition of using tech to bring you into its coffee shops, and that will be truer than ever with the latest supersized Reserve Roastery location in Shanghai. The beverage behemoth will use a mobile app to offer guided augmented reality tours of the coffee-making process when the restaurant opens on December 6th. Point your phone at equipment like the roaster or cask and you'll get an explanation of what happens as beans eventually turn into your venti latte.
Postmates' speedy booze delivery begins drop-offs in NYC and Texas
Postmates' on-demand alcohol service is now available well beyond California's borders. On top of an expansion to Miami in May, the internet delivery mainstay is now making its Drinks feature available in New York City (in Brooklyn and Manhattan) as well as Austin, Dallas and Houston. As before, the aim is to bring neighborhood stores' booze to your door in 25 minutes or less. You'll have to be in the mood for certain drinks depending on where you live, though. The NYC service focuses on wine and spirits, while the Texas offerings revolve around beers.
You can share the taste of lemonade through the internet
Ever see a friend post a photo of a drink online and wonder whether it's really as delicious as it looks? You might not have to pay a visit to find out: researchers have found a way to send the basic look and taste of lemonade through the internet. The team first used color and acidity sensors to get the characteristics of the drink, and then sent it to a connected tumbler full of water where LEDs replicated the color, and electrodes reproduced the sourness by stimulating drinkers' tastebuds.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joins Starbucks' board of directors
Starbucks has long had a fondness for technology in its coffee shops, and it's now reflecting that philosophy in its directors. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has just joined the Starbucks board, giving the restaurant chain a major voice from the technology industry. While it's not clear just what got Nadella on to the board (besides his clout in Seattle-area business), he doesn't mince words about his potential contribution -- he believes his "years of experience" in tech will play an important role.
Fizzics' new beer system is cheaper, smaller and easier to use
When we first tasted beers from Fizzics' countertop "draught" system last summer, we weren't expecting the device to live up to its lofty claims. The company promises to turn your bottles and cans into an on-tap experience with a little help from its so-called Micro-Foam bubbles. Aside from imparting a creamier mouthfeel and punching up some aromas, changes in flavor were relatively modest. However, it did make cheap beers noticeably better. For the second version of its "draught" setup, Fizzics is focusing more on user experience than improving the tech itself.
On-demand food service delivers beer with your meal
There's no shortage of online food delivery services, and services that deliver alcohol. However, getting both at the same time is a challenge. How are you supposed to complement that burger with a tasty brew? DoorDash has an answer. As of today, customers in southern California (other cities are coming, at least in the US) can order both alcohol and food at the same time, whether the drinks come from a restaurant or a liquor store. Your options will depend on the relevant corporate partnerships, but it could save you the hassle of placing a second order or (gasp) drinking something tamer.
Machine turns your Twitter posts into tasty cocktails
Ever wondered what your tweets would taste like if you could distill them into a drink? Probably not, but there's now a way to find out. Clément Gault and Koi Koi Design have whipped up Data Cocktail, an Arduino-powered machine that creates a drink based on Twitter updates. In its current incarnation, it looks for the five latest tweets mentioning keywords linked to ingredients, and fills the glass accordingly. The result is an original, spur-of-the-moment mix -- it'll even print out the 'recipe' (really, a ratio of the keywords) and thank the users who unwittingly contributed to the beverage.
NASA's Space Cups help astronauts drink like they do on Earth
Astronauts can't really enjoy beverages the way you do here on Earth. They have to drink from a pouch through a straw, which is about as glamorous as sipping from a juice box. NASA and IRPI are giving those spacefarers their dignity back, however. They're experimenting with Space Cups that, as the name implies, let astronauts drink as they would at home. The vessels use a mix of their unique geometry, surface tension and wetting to keep the liquids headed toward your mouth. As you'll see in the clips below, it's very hard to spill anything... at worst, you can shake loose a couple of globules that are easy to recapture.
The Keurig Kold: You could just buy a mini-fridge instead
As I took Keurig's Kold machine out of its box, the first thought that ran through my head was, "Man, Alton Brown would hate this." You see, the Good Eats and Cutthroat Kitchen host has a vendetta against single-use kitchen gadgets: that is, products designed to do one thing and one thing alone. And it's usually a purpose that could easily be replicated by another doodad already living in your kitchen. In the case of the Kold, a device that dispenses single servings of cold drinks at the touch of a button, that doodad would be your fridge.
Space whisky really does taste different
When Scottish distiller Ardbeg launched whisky into space to see whether or not the drink ages differently in microgravity, it came across as little more than a publicity stunt... which, admittedly, it still is. However, the company has finally published its results, and it's clear that this liquor was changed by its stay in the International Space Station. Going into orbit altered the ratios of acids and other chemicals, which had a pronounced effect on the taste. While the Earth-based whisky is dry, with notes of "woody" flavors" and "sweet smoke," the space whisky recalls "smoked fruits" and carries an aftertaste that reminds Ardbeg of "antiseptic lozenges" and "rubbery smoke." You won't be breaking this out to celebrate a special occasion, then, unless you like recalling the smell of burning tires.
New York is the latest state to ban powdered alcohol
Powdered alcohol has faced an uphill battle for legitimacy in the US, with 20 states having banned it up until now... and a new, 21st ban could represent its biggest defeat to date. New York Governor Cuomo has signed legislation banning the sale of Palcohol and other forms of crystallized or powdered alcoholic beverages in the state. According to him, it's a "public health disaster waiting to happen" -- it's too easy to create a dangerous mix (or worse, ingest it directly), and underage drinkers can sneak it around largely unnoticed. While there's no national ban yet, it's hard to imagine the tide turning in Palcohol's favor. [Image credit: Gavin Schaefer, Flickr]
